Category: White wines

There are certain cuisines that we are less familiar with then others, and for me the one I have never tried was Indian cuisine. I love to eat it but it’s “unknown” territory. My Indian customer in Connecticut got me hooked on the food, but I always believed it’s a special combination of freshly grounded seasoning, and techniques and yadi yadi yada … With respect to an authenticity, I wasn’t even fooling around with it.

But I started to experiment (just for myself) with some vegetarian dishes, creating recipes with eggplant and chickpeas and spinach …. some that tasted “like Indian cuisine”, but probably far from the original stuff. And then one day I virtually befriended one sweet Indian soul called Vrinda who assured me that just like any other “traditional staples” of different international cuisines, Indian cooking also has its multiple variations of dishes, and everybody adds their own personal touch to it. In other words – just do it, and make it your own!

So, why not? I gave myself permission to play with Indian food. And shortly after, I became a personal chef for a lady whose father is an Indian and, on top of it, great cook. On our second session, she asked me to prepare some Indian chicken dish. Whaaaat? That’s like cooking your own Bolognese for an auntie from Tuscany!

But being a fighter as I am, I looked up some recipes on line and realized that it shouldn’t be such a trauma. The bonus – it’s going to be delicious and spicy. And that’s all that I like.

So here is my adapted recipe for my first ever Chicken Tikka Masala. I loved it so much, that after all day cooking at my client’s house, I immediately made some for us at home so my husband can taste it! Please don’t get discouraged by the list of ingredients. Most of it are spices you probably already have in your spice cabinet and pantry.

Mix rice vinegar with 1 teaspoon each of cumin, ginger, turmeric, paprika, and add coconut oil. Pour over chicken and store covered in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Heat ghee or butter in a large skillet with heavy bottom over medium heat, add onions and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. I used my favorite cast iron pot. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add cumin, salt, ginger, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and turmeric into the onion mixture and saute for 2 more minutes. Scrape the onion mixture to a small bowl.

Peel tomatoes (pierce skin on the bottom of each tomato, boil for 30 seconds, take out of the boiling water, cool with running cold water in the colander in the sink, and carefully peel the skin off with your hand). Roughly chop tomatoes and let simmer in the same large pot you just sauteed onions, until it reaches sauce consistency (about 10 – 15 minutes).

Return onion mixture to the tomato sauce and simmer for 10 more minutes. Mix in coconut milk, paprika, and sugar. Bring sauce back to boil and turn the heat down to simmer.

Heat coconut oil in a separate skillet over medium heat. Take the chicken pieces from the marinade and stir carefully into the hot oil, sprinkle with more curry powder, and sear until lightly browned but still pink inside, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken and any pan juices into the tomato sauce. Let simmer chicken in sauce until no longer pink, about 30 minutes. The sauce will reduce, thicken and all the flavors just beautifully blend together. Adjust seasoning if needed.

While the chicken is cooking, heat tablespoon of olive oil (or coconut oil) in the small rice pan, mince shallot and garlic and cook until fluorescent but not brown. Add tablespoon of chia seeds and cook shortly, stirring. Add basmati rice, water (or chicken broth), season with salt (unless you’re using chicken stock), and bring to boil.

Cover the lid, turn the heat down to low and let simmer for 15 minutes on very low heat. Turn off the heat, and let the rice finish up in its own heat. Fluff with fork when done, and pour the chicken tikka masala deliciousness all over the rice!!! If you have time before you dig in, you can decorate it with few leafs of cilantro. Enjoy!

I have paired this dish with Weingut Groiss Grüner Veltliner 2011. The crispiness of this wine paired well with this spicy and creamy chicken dish. I must tell you, well made Gruner veltliner like this one (by the way, it comes in 1L bottle so it’s a gem) is so versatile, it pairs with almost anything. This one is my “house wine” and I hooked many of my friends on it. Even those that prefer sweeter white wines. Funny, this wine is dry and crisp, but collectively loved.

Years back, Louis Latour’s wines were my very first introduction to the Burgundy region. No, I am not talking about the so-called-Burgundy jug wines (I still don’t understand how such a prominent wine region allows using its name in California), but the real stuff. The real, extraordinary Chardonnay that grows in French Burgundy.

I was lucky to be introduced to this region by one of the best producers in Burgundy. Starting from “low end” but superb Chardonnay Ardèche or Grand Ardèche, from Corton hillside to the Mâconnais, this tasting included Pouilly Fuisse as well as their most special Grand Crus.

Never before in my life, had I a chance to taste Pouligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, or wines of Marsault, all Premier Crus, side by side. This tasting forever engraved the taste of superb Burgundy wines in me.

It was a privilege to represent wines of Louis Latour’s family at the company, I worked for. Latour remained a family owned business since 1797 (they are a member of the Henokiens Society, which unites independent firms with an age of at least 200 years). The most recent, the seventh Louis Latour, manages a domaine of 50 hectares of Grand and Premier Crus.

Pretty soon I realized that although these wines were exceptional, they were almost unsaleable on the mainstream market. I certainly didn’t have customers for the high end Crus (they are quite pricey) but it was hard to sell even the most inexpensive of the portfolio. Could it be that retailers couldn’t even pronounce the names correctly? That certainly stopped me from showing it a lot, because I didn’t want to look like a fool, selling something I can’t even pronounce right. Although everybody appreciated the taste, regular retailers rather grabbed another Californian Chardonnay. After all, the Chardonnay variety is the most selling wine in the United States.

And how about the mainstream wine drinker? Coming to the store, looking for something new to try – unless you had a great wine guy in the store, nobody would even put these wines in the consumers hands. It didn’t say Chardonnay on its label. Yet, I had a handful of clients who were not afraid to do some extra work, and took these wines in their wine stores. They didn’t mind to introduce them to their wine customers. And they sold! Because they are so extraordinary.

Louis Latour Chardonnay Ardèche or Grand Ardèche sold around $10 a bottle. Yet it tasted as Chardonnays twice or more the price of Californian wines. Actually, there is no comparison. Burgundy is such a unique region. It could serve as a teaching tool for someone who is still rolling eyes when wine geeks start to talk about regions and terroirs. For those who believe that Chardonnay is Chardonnay and that’s the end of story -it just taste the same.

No, it doesn’t. Although not many regular wine drinkers would get the chance to taste these wines, as I did, side by side, incl. the most prominent Crus, I wish every Chardonnay lover had the chance. It was an eye opening experience for me. I never looked at Chardonnay the same since. Even the few kilometers between the small vineyards made a huge difference in the soil, sun exposure – and therefore the wine tasted completely different. It was fascinating.

As I said at the beginning, it has been a few years back. And, I don’t sell wine for living anymore (regrettably). Yet, when I recently noticed Louis Latour Pouilly Fuisse in the store, and it was reasonably priced, it brought back the memories of that day, of that tasting. Of course I grabbed the bottle. In sunny Florida, I am always in the mood for some crisp white wine.

We had opened it the other night, when I prepared just simple asparagus fritata and some salad for dinner. It was one of those lovely evenings, sitting outside, feeling the gentle breeze in our hair, surrounded by palm trees, slowly moving in the wind. I sniffed the familiar aroma and took the first sip.

Boy, that wine was superb!!! The delicate citrus flavors, clean and fresh, covered my entire mouth, every taste bud was awoken. My husband (which until recently hated dry wines) was charmed the same way. The great crisp acidity of Pouilly Fuisse made my mouth watering for more, as soon as I swallowed, and was left with a long, impressive finish. It was a perfect match for that dinner, and most importantly, for that warm evening.

We usually have a glass of wine with a dinner and finish the bottle the next day. Not this time. I can’t stop drinking it. “I am finishing this one,” I proclaimed decisively and pour myself a generous second glass.

My father used to joke: “you don’t pour your own glass, let someone else pour it for you, so you don’t look like an alcoholic.”

I knew that she loved the Chardonnay grape, and there was no reason to abandon it. I went on mission to find new wines for her that she would enjoy. To show her that not all the Chardonnay wines are created equal, and not all of them taste the same.

Browsing the local wine shop, I was seeking for crisp, clean Chardonnay made by my favorite Peter Lehmann in Barossa, Australia, but they didn’t have it. So my other choice was to introduce Debbie to white Burgundy. Most wine drinkers know that white wines from French Burgundy are always 100% Chardonnay, but Les Charmes, from Mâcon – Lugny made it easier just in case you didn’t, and stated the grape clearly on the label.

I always found it interesting that many American wine drinkers, I met during my career, were mostly interested in “what’s in it, what percentage of blend, which grape”, while most European wine drinkers cared to know where the wine came from. I am sure the different approach comes from a long tradition of typical wine regions in the so called Old world. The “terroire”, Village, region or the Château (Bodega or Tenuta, whatever applies) are their guarantee of the quality of the wine. If one likes the reds of Tuscany, they wouldn’t expect to find many Pinot Noirs or let’s say Malbecs there.

Burgundy to me is the most fascinating wine region. For relatively small region (about 30 thousand hectares planted with vineyards) Burgundy has a higher number of appellations d’origine contrôlée (AOCs) than any other French region, and is often seen as the most terroir driven of the French wine regions. Small vineyards could often produce Chardonnay grapes with completely different taste profile than let’s say their neighbor, just half a mile down the road.

Some of the Grand Cru wines from Burgundy are out of this world, but could be also quite pricey. Les Charmes Chardonnay that happens to be a single vineyard wine, cost me $12 and my friend loved it! She said that in order to remember the name of this wine she is going to call it charming. I agree, charming it is.

Tasting notes:
This very elegant, stainless steel fermented wine, offers a beautiful fruity aromas. On the palate it opens into bright and clean flavors of cantaloupe, with notes of white peach and citrus.

Great balance of fruit and acidity makes this pretty Chardonnay crisp and refreshing. Lovely, long finish. For its more than reasonable price, this wine is definitely a great value! Even if you happen to be a fan of bigger, oaky, buttery styles of Chardonnay, or – just like my friend Debbie, you look for something different, this wine is worth to try.

On my mission to find a new, exciting, and – most importantly – affordable white wines, I browsed the isles of my favorite wine shop once again. Italian whites almost never disappointed me, so I was confident to grab a bottle of Bellini ORVIETO Classico 2011, although I never had it before.

Photo: Wikipedia

The zone of Orvieto Classico is located around Orvieto town itself, in Umbria, a very traditional and beautiful wine region in the central Italy.

The Orvieto Classico title is exclusively given to white wines from this region, which could be made in sweet or dry style, standard or higher-quality superiore versions.

As I wasn’t able to find any more detailed info about this particular producer, I have to assume that this delicious white wine was traditionally made from a blend of Procanico (Trebbiano Toscano) and Grechetto. By Italian law, both grapes must jointly account for at least 60% of the finished wine. If there is more Grechetto used in the blend,the wine will get more body and fruttines.
For the remaining 40% of the blend the winemaker is free to use any combination of other white grape varieties, found within the Viterbo province. It could be Malvasia Toscana, Drupeggio, Verdello and Canaiolo Bianco grapes.

Whatever the blend of Bellini Orvieto Classico was, I loved it. Clean, sunny yellow color and lovely lemony aroma was an inviting first impression. The wine was a light bodied, crisp and refreshing summer wine, a perfect company for my seafood dinner.

Although it showed a lot of fruit, it was still delicate with an acidity in perfect balance. Light, almost bubbly sensation on my tongue expressed the characteristic typical limestone and volcanic soils of Orvieto Classico region.

Very pleasant, pretty wine was such a steal for $ 8.99! I will definitely buy it again. This is a lovely wine for hot summer, a great opportunity to try something new and exciting. My mouth is watering right now, when I am just writing about it.

First of all, I have to apologize. I haven’t been very productive lately and didn’t keep up with my blog. The reason was our big out of state move. I don’t know, it feels like the older I get, the harder the moving becomes. We have moved so many times before, even over seas – but this time was especially hard. Probably also because of my physical condition and the fact, that we were moving from the north all the way down to Florida. Sounds exciting, right?

I am not going to bore you with the stories about never ending packing, missing stuff that is already packed, crashed down computer in the middle of it, throwing tuns of stuff away and giving to charity, still realizing we wouldn’t fit on the rented truck, then long tiring trip down south – to come to a house that needs to be deep cleaned and emptied of bunch of useless stuff, left behind by the previous owner. Wow. I just did, didn’t I?

I am still waiting for my new wine cellar /credenza to be delivered to our new home, but I did bring two of my small wine refrigerators. I was aware that the time I could use my natural basement as a cellar, is definitely over in Florida. I also knew that I needed some refill, especially in white wines department.

So after we settled a little, I paid another visit to the largest local wine shop Total Wines. See my blog about my first visit there. This time we came on lazy Sunday morning, when the store was almost empty and I randomly picked case of different white wines to explore and enjoy.

I will try to review all of them because it seems that so far I had a lucky hand. We loved them all. The latest that stood out for us was Château du Jaunay – Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Sur Lie. Lovely, crisp white from Loire Valley of central France perfectly accompanied our light summer dinner of spiced shrimp and sauteed green beans. We couldn’t put the bottle down. Full of lemony flavors, beautifully balanced with just right acidity, that leaves that teasing feeling on the tongue. What a pretty wine! Full of fruit and long, very elegant finish.

I am glad I picked this wine – I might go back for a case. This is just a perfect seafood wine, as most Muscadets are, but not all of them are created equally. This one was made with love and passion. That’s what I fell from that bottle. It made me smile. And lucky me, I have another one on hand before I would have to have another trip to the wine store.

If you are tired of Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio, give this wine a try. It will make you smile too! Summer is almost here!!!!

Oh, did I tell you I love our new backyard? I do, it’s like heaven on Earth! Well worth all of the trouble.

Like this:

Posts navigation

What does the chef do when she is off?

I knew you will find your way to my blog one day! I'm a writer, food and wine lover and a lifetime student. Currently running my Personal chef business. Are you looking for a new, chef's proven recipes? Pull the chair and join our community table where we share food, wine, recipes, good stories and lost of laughter!

Follow this Blog

We will send a notification of a new post by Chef Vera to your email address: